I “Stumbled” on this great post that lists the origins of all 30 Major League Baseball Teams. It appears the Boston Red Sox hold the oldest named team dating back to the 1860’s, popularized by the Cincinnati Red Stockings from 1867-1870 and used by Boston’s National League franchise from 1871-1876.

But the actual team name origin that’s with the same team is the San Francisco Giants, formerly the New York Giants, that dates back to 1885.

According to this chart, Facebook fans favor the American League over the National League by 53% to 47%, which is probably about the same as ESPN and MLB.com, at least in this blogger’s opinion. Keep in mind the chart is for 2012 and may have changed since the October post-season.

Infographic by Adam Cornille, Data Visualization Analyst

I found this great infographic on NJ Biblio’s blog. Looking at the results I had to go to the original source of the material, “Banyan Branch“, to see where these guys are from, since their second most favorite tweets were listed as belonging to the Seattle Mariners, a surprise to me. And sure enough, the Banyan fellows are based in Seattle. I doubt the chart is skewed toward Seattle because of a bias, but more than likely it’s because of the high-tech industries and rather sophisticated yuppies fast associated with the area. Good job guys!

Here’s the 2012 update to our 2011 listing published August 27, 2011. This comes to us compliments of USA Today. If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries. It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs; in other words, did they get what they paid for?For example; the Washington Nationals have the best record in the Majors this year, but have the 11th Lowest Salary out of 30 Teams. Salary Chart Linked Here

I just returned from an Alaska cruise and was perusing the photos I took. One of those special shots that really stood out had nothing to do with the cruise. In fact, it was a photo of Safeco Field, taken on Friday night, May 25, 2012, before the cruise and during a game between the Mariners and the Angels.

The Seattle Mariners Safeco Field

Take a look at this picture. What prompted me to even take this shot was the unusual designs all over the field. In just this one picture, you can count over seven different diagonal directions the field was mowed. What I really want to know is how long does it take the groundskeeper to mow the darn field, all of it, and what kind of equipment does he use to mow it with?

Okay, I know, it’s a pretty lame question, but I just thought the field looked really great and wanted to share it before I fall into bed fast asleep. It’s been a rough week, having spent a good part of it tossing around my cabin with patches on my ears, bands on my wrists, and frothing at the mouth from being sea-sick. Our poor captain had to face headwinds of 42 knots while sailing at 20 knots. I hope I got that right. Knowing about knots is not my forte. Alaska’s a beautiful state but next time I might try the Trans-Alaska Highway just to be safe.

As for Safeco Field and the Mariners ~ they played a great game and were ahead until the ninth. I don’t know, maybe they took just a little too long to admire the field instead of focusing on the game and old Albert what’s-his-name. I know that’s what I was doing.

Last week I was perusing the San Francisco Giants website looking for tickets. I settled on two $46 tickets in the Premium Lower Box section, went through the hoops and hit the button only to find that the $46 tickets were now miraculously $150! Here’s the Disclaimer that was shown on the page:

“Market pricing applies to all tickets. Rates can fluctuate based on factors affecting supply and demand. Lock in your price and location today!”

What the heck is that all about? I mean if you list something for a certain price shouldn’t that be the price you pay for it? I’m just as much in favor of capitalism as the next guy, probably more so, and I’m not an attorney, but shouldn’t this be considered false advertising?

I understand having different prices for different games. For example, a June 4th game between the Giants and the Dodgers is priced at $56 for a lower box seat but a game on August 3 between the Giants and the Padres is only $32 for the same seat. I get it. Nothing wrong with that. But to buy a ticket advertised at a specific price and then find out “at checkout” that it’s three times the price you agreed to pay for it 10 seconds ago? I don’t think so. I wonder if other teams are doing this. Ticket prices should be published at the beginning of the season and remain the same throughout that season, or at least until you get a chance to click the purchase button.

“AT&T Park not the only game in town” Photo Courtesy of Gerald Carpenter

Needless to say, I cancelled the order I was working on and instead I’m flying down to San Diego in June to watch the Padres and Rangers at a price we agreed upon. Okay, I realize with the air fare, hotel, meals, etc., it’s going to cost me a fortune. But this is a protest purchase you know? And it’s the principal of the thing. I mean how many times do I have to keep paying for Zito’s salary? Enough already.

One bright spot in the week. We received an email from the Oakland A’s a few weeks ago offering $12 Field Level tickets on Mother’s Day. And that’s exactly what they cost. These were great front row seats, beautiful weather, friendly fans, and extremely friendly vendors and staff, and a beautiful pink rose to boot! Needless to say, we’ll be back.

And we’re flying to Seattle and attending a Mariners game week after next. If this is perceived as being disloyal, so be it. I love my San Francisco Giants but I love baseball even more and I’m going to the games one way or another.

I love this stuff. What a fun way to reminisce about baseball. I’d almost forgotten about the Pilots since in my mind I considered them more of a minor league team than the majors. I can’t help but wonder what the Seattle old-timers feel about Bud Selig and the Milwaukee Brewers now. I mean do you think they’re cheering for the Brewers this postseason? It’d be interesting to talk today with the man on the street in downtown Seattle about the subject.

I found these two great back-to-back You Tube videos from a fellow blogger at the “Pasttime Post“. So Seattle Mariner fans and anyone else from the Pacific Northwest who remembers ….. get yourself a beer, pop, whatever, and grab some garlic fries. This one’s for you! (Note: Contains “colorful language”!)

Here’s the 2011 update to our 2010 Major League Baseball listing published November 22, 2010. This comes to us compliments of USA Today. If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries. It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs; in other words, did they get what they paid for?

"The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series." - Tommy Lasorda

"You teach me baseball and I’ll teach you relativity.... You will learn about relativity faster than I learn baseball." - Albert Einstein

"Baseball is a game of race, creed, and color. The race is to first base. The creed is the rules of the game. The color? Well, the home team wears white uniforms, and the visiting team wears gray."
Joe Garagiola

About this Blogger!

DISCLAIMER

GARLICFRIESANDBASEBALL is written by a long-time fan who simply loves the game. I write my own articles (hence the grammar and occasional misspellings). If I include an article from another source, credit is given to that source and will include links when appropriate. The opinions are my own.